1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to bicycle parking racks and, more particularly, to bicycle parking racks which provide sufficient to accommodate disc brake equipped bicycles.
2. History of the Prior Art
Many types of racks and stands have been used for holding bicycles in a parked upright position. A commonly used stand for holding a bicycle in its normal upright position is the kickstand. A kick stand is typically a support bar that is swingably mounted to the frame on the left side of a bicycle. Though some kickstands are welded directly to the chain stays of the frame adjacent the crank spindle and bearing housing portion of the frame (this was a common practice on Arnold-Schwinn bicycles manufactured in Chicago, Ill.), most kickstands are either clamped to the chain stays or bolted to a bracket spanning the chain stays. However, many cyclists—particularly owners of competition road bikes and mountain bikes—opt to not equip their rides with kickstands, in the interest of reducing weight. In addition, because the kickstand mounting clamps have been known to crush the chain stay tubes, may cyclists will not even consider installing a kickstand on their bikes. This is particularly true of bicycles having carbon graphite fiber-reinforced epoxy frames. Although the frames are extremely strong, the tubes will shatter if squeezed with clamps. Thus, owners of bicycles sans kickstands typically park their bikes by either laying them flat on their sides (preferably on grass) or by resting them in an upright position against a wall or the like structure (the preferred technique is resting the rear wheel against a tree trunk or other vertical object). These improvised parking methods often result in damage to the seat, handlebar, handlebar-mounted controls, rear derailleur, and quick-release mechanisms on the wheel axles when a bicycle slides and falls away from the vertical object against which it was resting. Few things are more annoying to an avid cyclist than seeing his prized mount hit the pavement.
Several types of stand-alone racks have been used to hold and store bicycles. Typically, these racks have vertically-oriented, spaced apart pairs of bars or tubs between which a wheel of a bicycle is positioned. However, within the past decade or so, a new development in the design of bicycles has made many of these racks obsolete. Disc brakes have now become standard equipment on many mountain bikes, on many touring road bikes which often are heavily loaded, and on tandem bicycles. The disc brakes are advantageous because the friction pads do not heat up the rim, which can lead to tire failure on steep grades. In addition, disc brakes eliminate wear on the sides of the rims caused by caliper brakes. Modern aluminum alloy rims have a wear groove on each side of the rim. When the wear groove is no longer visible, the rims must be replaced in the interest of safety. On disc brakes, wear is limited to primarily to the replaceable friction pads, as the brake disc or rotor is typically manufactured from wear-resistant steel. Even in the unlikely event that a rider manages to wear out a disc, it is easily and inexpensively replaced without necessitating replacement of other wheel components. The problem with disc brakes, as far as stand alone racks are concerned, is that the disc rotor may prevent the associated bicycle wheel from being properly positioned between the vertically-oriented, spaced-apart bars or tubes. Even if a rider does manage to slide the wheel into the rack so that the outer planar surface of the disc brake rotor is immediately adjacent a vertical bar or tube, the rider risks scratching, bending or otherwise marring the rotor through contact with the bar or tube.
What is needed is a free-standing bike rack having a new design that is compatible with bicycles equipped with disc brakes.